


Hide the pain.

by Im_SeptiplierAf



Category: Septiplier - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Septiplier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 05:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4776119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_SeptiplierAf/pseuds/Im_SeptiplierAf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I originally uploaded this to wattpad. I hope you guys like it.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally uploaded this to wattpad. I hope you guys like it.

Mark stood anxiously awaiting the arrival of his boyfriend at LAX. It had, apparently, been an extremely long flight on Jack's part, and it was one of the later flights to finally arrive at the airport that night. Mark had been there for nearly an hour, and he would be there for nearly another hour, on top of that. He was becoming restless, to say the least, and the hundreds of people milling around were not helping matters at all.  
It was a nuisance, to be perfectly honest, and it was because of those hundreds of people bustling about that he had been forced to make an obnoxious sign, painted bright green with the letters that formed Jack's name scrawled in sloppy handwriting on it. The whole thing was almost unbearable to look at, and if one did manage to look at it, it seemed to jump out and scream at them. Yet, that was just the point of the sign; he needed something that would attract the attention of Jack, and it would definitely do that, as it was already doing its job by attracting the attention of many of the people wandering around the airport.  
Mark glanced down at his watch, which was almost becoming a habit since he had been doing it periodically for the past hour, and it indicated that the time was 11:00pm. So late, far too late for his liking. He would have liked to have been asleep at that particular time, or even doing something remotely productive, but he could manage to lose a few hours, considering just what was making him lose those hours. He shifted, tapping his foot in anticipation when he thought about what was to come over the next few days. Oh, how tremendous it would be! Or.. Should be, anyway. There were some things that weren't quite right, and hadn't been for a while, pertaining to his relationship with Jack, and he intended to work those things out.  
However, all that aside, Mark looked to the gate where Jack would be coming from any moment now. Seconds, minutes, and what could have easily seemed like hours, ticked by as he held his gaze to the gate. It was just when he let out an exasperated sigh that he noticed a throng of people filing out of the area and into the already densely crowed area of the terminal. Standing on his toes to better see over the heads of everyone before him, Mark's eyes wandered the sea of bodies until they finally rested on a familiar face. A genuine smile like no other spread across his face as he spotted Jack. Mark abandoned the whole point of the sign and threw his arm into the air, waving wildly at Jack and pushing his way through the crowd toward him.  
It couldn't have been easier for Jack to have spotted Mark, not with that god-awful green sign, anyway. He turned to Mark who had previously been sporadically waving at him, and waited for him to get within arms length before taking a half-step forward and wrapping an arm around him, as the other was occupied with luggage.

“I missed you.” Mark sighed softly into the crook of Jack's neck.

“I missed you, too.” Jack was far less enthusiastic about it as he should have been. Usually, his words had a spring and a bounce in them, even if it was a solemn subject, but it just wasn't there. Jet lag was something that played a huge factor in the softness of his voice, and it was quite evident he was suffering from that. He wore dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, but his overall exhaustion stretched far beyond that of just a few hours of missed sleep. The majority of it was, most likely, the thoughts that continued to eat at him about what was to come in the near future, and just his overall distaste with how things were playing out.  
Recently, he had been feeling an emptiness residing in his heart, and it was not curable, by any means. And it was a tragedy, because when he pulled away from the hug he was greeted with the sight of Mark smiling from ear to ear, so happy to see him. It made Jack feel guilty. But what he didn't know was that Mark felt that same sinking feeling in his entire being; he felt them disconnect a little more every time they spoke, and it was just feeding that feeling. And the worst part was that neither of them knew how to stop it.

Without much more than a nod, Mark took Jack's hand and led them both through the crowded monstrosity that was LAX. They wound through the crowd and managed to work their way over to the baggage claim. Aside from his carry on, Jack had only brought a medium-sized, black suitcase, as he had not really had a reason to pack much more than a few changes of clothes and a few electronics, such as his laptop. After all, he was only staying the weekend.

“Ready to go when you are.” Jack huffed, grabbing his suitcase from the conveyor belt.

“Alright, yeah, let's go.” Mark exclaimed happily, but it came out a little more forced that he had meant for it to.

The both of them were more than ready to escape the busyness of the airport, and Mark was so grateful that he even let a soft breath of relief once they were outside the terminal. Once again, it was Mark leading the way, and this time it was to his car. They made the short walk in silence. Mark unlocked the car, helping Jack situate his luggage into the trunk before jogging around to the driver's side and slipping into the seat. This was, also, done in silence.  
Jack paused just before opening the passenger door and looked around. The sky was cloudy and dark, as it was just about everywhere during the winter, nearing the end of December. It was just like Ireland, he thought; all the rain to come and a small chill in the air. He shivered slightly as the cool wind pierced him, tugging on the sleeves of his hoodie as he heard Mark's door shut.  
Jack felt the weather was almost appropriate for his and Mark's relationship at that moment. It was cold and in a standstill, an endless purgatory of waiting in silence. It was distant.  
He turned his face away from the endless sky filled with gray sheets of clouds and opened the passenger door before slipping into the car.  
The car ride to Mark's apartment was spent in a silence that had stretched from the instant they had set foot outside the airport terminal. There wasn't really much conversation between them nowadays, though, and neither of them were really surprised that things had suddenly taken a turn in that direction. Their shear lack in communication was, actually, one of the reasons for Jack's visit. Although he was happy to see the man he adored, he was also pained at where this would all inevitably lead. In his mind, he wanted all of it to work out, but he knew it wasn't that easy.  
Mark had felt it, too. All of their recent conversations had lacked the intensity that they once contained. It was all as if their relationship was becoming completely stagnant. Mark drummed his fingers against the steering wheel to stir up some noise. The ride was not long in length, but with a heavy silence hanging over them, it seemed like a millennium. And although he thought of many topics to discuss, he was reluctant to speak. He feared that if he spoke, he would end up speaking about their failing relationship, which may have made it disintegrate at a more rapid pace.  
He didn't want to argue about their decrease in communication, or the way the distance had finally come to affect them in a way that was all but remotely good. They both knew from the very beginning that distance would be an issue, but they had taken that chance, anyway. They had taken that chance for a chance at a happier life, thinking they could handle something like that. As they neared their destination, it became painfully obvious that there was, indeed, a barrier that had built up between them. Neither wanted to speak about it.  
There were still no words to be spoken as they arrived at Mark's apartment building and entered the premises. Mark delivered Jack's things to the bedroom while Jack, himself, made his way over to the couch, as he was still exhausted from the flight.  
Jack sighed quietly, as to not alert Mark that he was even remotely put off. From the moment he sat down, he knew there was no fixing what they had. The apartment felt foreign to him, even though he had been there many times before, and had even considered it his second home at one point. It didn't even register in his mind that Mark's home should feel like his home, too, anymore. Instead, it felt destitute and desolate. He had denied that one thought for so long, until that moment where it became very obvious.  
When Mark entered the room, he, too, had obviously felt it, as well. He sat stiffly down onto the couch, yet he still had a glimmer of hope in his eyes as he did so. He thought that, maybe, somehow, they could fix it. He shifted, resting his head on Jack's shoulder. They sat, in total silence, once again, for what seemed like hours, but it was merely another illusion.  
Minutes later, Mark was standing up and awkwardly mumbling something nearly inaudible about how it was late and he had to get some sleep if he was going to get anything done the next day, and then he went on to say how Jack should join him soon. Jack gave a short nod. Once Mark had left, Jack felt guilty, quite honestly, and he convinced himself that he had good reason to. He had barely even said five words to Mark. Sure, he could probably blame it on the jet lag, but he wouldn't exactly be telling the whole truth with that excuse.  
Truthfully, Jack was doing his best to avoid talking too much, especially to Mark, which was very uncharacteristic of him, and he even felt uncomfortable with it at times. However, he felt it best to stay quiet until he had gotten things figured out. He didn't want to say anything prematurely, or cause more problems for him and Mark.  
Jack had to think, long and hard, about what he was going to do, because this couldn't just be rushed, but maybe it wouldn't be rushed. For months upon months he had been having the same reoccurring thought, but he had just kept pushing it further and further back into his mind without thinking that one day he would have to face it. Now, Jack had to face it. Months of contemplating the same subject over and over again had to be enough time for anything, and surely for something of this nature.  
There was a long pause that caused a great stillness in the air around him as he looked at the closed bedroom door. His luggage was in there, and his laptop was a part of that luggage. So, using his laptop was completely out of the question if he didn't wish for Mark to be alerted of what he was doing. Instead, Jack pulled his phone from his back pocket and turned it on. The brightness of the screen mixed with his tiredness did not go well together for his vision, but he managed; he managed to open a travel app and book plane tickets – Well, he managed to book one plane ticket for Saturday night. A one-way trip back to Ireland.


	2. Chapter 2

Mark awoke to feeling of a presence beside him. He turned over, revealing to his eyes the sight of Jack sleeping soundly. A smile pulled at his lips at the sight, but it was short lived as he realized that things still weren't the best between them. The night before, he had opted for turning in so early after Jack arrived because he thought he could sleep off the stress of the situation; he thought for a moment that if he got a decent rest things would be okay. It was a common thing, he thought, for people to believe that they could just sleep off all their problems and worries, but he knew better. He knew better and, however, he still thought that it could work. It didn't.  
He knew that Jack's visit should have helped their relationship, it should have bettered it because they were getting some alone time, time to do whatever they wanted. They both had even recorded days of videos in advance so that they would be able to do things without work interfering. So far, though, his visit seemed to worsen things. When Jack was back in Ireland and on a completely different schedule than Mark, they seemed to be getting along better. Even though they didn't talk much, they at least were speaking words of love and affection when they did manage to find time in their busy schedules. Now, there conversations were short – Hell, what conversations? Mark had said he missed Jack, they had talked about leaving the airport, and Mark had told Jack goodnight. Those hardly classified as proper conversations. And – Fuck – neither of them had told the other that they loved them. Jack just seemed... so uninterested.  
Mark sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed, pausing for a moment to stretch his limbs awkwardly. It was early morning, most likely around 7am. He didn't think Jack would have been getting up anytime soon, especially not after that long flight and not to mention the hour of which he must have finally decided to lie down and get some sleep, so he decided he would go about his usual morning routine and leave the other man alone to get some proper rest.  
Strolling into the kitchen, Mark headed straight for the coffee maker. Coffee had, at some point, become some sort of necessity for him to stay awake during the day. Not that it was a hard task, staying awake, but a boost of caffeine made things just a little easier.  
Jack was awake and had been ever since he felt the bed shift under Mark's weight when he had moved around the get up and leave. Once Mark had left the room, he had just lied there, thinking about a number of things. He thought of what terrible event was to unfold later in the day, and he thought of how he had to catch a plane back to Ireland that night. He felt.. dirty for keeping all of those things to himself. He felt dirty like a liar and a thief. He felt deceitful. Even though he hadn't exactly been leading Mark into a false conclusion, he had been keeping secrets about his thoughts, and that was just as bad to him.  
He cringed inwardly at what he was actually doing. He loved Mark, truly, and there was no denying that he had a heavy heart as he thought of his actions to come. The faulty relationship and lessened communication had taken its toll on Jack. He could blame work, he could blame distance, and he would be right in doing so, but there was just something else. He longer felt the relationship desirable, and the hassle was becoming just too much. That amazing thing they had in the beginning had just slowly dwindled away into nothing. He sighed, not even bothering to tone his volume down, as he sat up and got up from the bed, leaving behind a mess of tangled sheets as he walked into the kitchen.  
On the other side of all that, there was Mark. There was Mark who still hoped that over the length of the weekend, he and Jack could actually work out some of their problems. He was beginning to feel like it was all his fault, his fault that they were becoming less and less of what they started out to be. Mark turned his attention away from that, fearing that if he dwelled too long he would fall apart, and instead put all his attention into pouring himself a cup of coffee. He leaned against the counter, inhaling deeply through his nose and enjoying the warm smell of coffee. His eyes lifted to the bedroom door, where quite the sight greeted him. Jack, with his hair mused and astray, traipsed groggily into the room.

“Good morning.” Mark grinned, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Morning.” Jack's eyes flickered up to Mark, and then back down to the floor.

“How did you sleep?” Mark's tone was happy, uplifting, but maybe a little forced. But who cared? He was trying to make Jack a little more lighthearted, which he clearly wasn't. It was rather frightening to see him like that, and Mark was very tempted to ask if something was on his mind, but maybe it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

“Fine.”

“Do you want some breakfast? I can cook some eggs or something.”

“No.” The Irishman walked passed Mark and and grabbed a coffee mug for himself and began pouring coffee from the coffee pot into the mug.

Ouch. That stung. It wasn't surprising for Mark to hear Jack being so short with his responses, but it was unexpected for them to have that small venomous sting behind them. And even though Jack's voice was a little bouncy like usual, he could still detect that small tone of utter distaste.  
Jack blatantly ignored Mark's presence, aside from that “conversation”, and trudged over to the couch where he plopped himself down. Mark, of course, soon followed and sat right down beside him, much to Jack's dislike. He almost sighed, too, out of annoyance and need for space, but his held it back. He couldn't get too hasty about things just yet.  
Neither wanted to speak – As usual – and it lead to the two of them sipping their coffee in silence, save for the few ambient noise of the outside world.

“Is something wrong?” Mark finally asked, having grown rather impatient.

“No.”

Mark paused, opening his mouth to continue but soon closing it. It was becoming quite obvious that Jack was in no mood to talk, and it was becoming increasingly harder for Mark to just pass it off as Jack not being a morning person.

“Are you sure? Because if you need-”

“Mark, stop.”

There was an extended silence and a tension so thick that it hung in the air and made it almost hard to breathe. Mark clutched the mug in his hands and kept his eyes forward, looking at the blank television screen rather than at Jack.

“I just want to know what I've done for you to act this way.”

“Nothing.”

Mark said nothing, did nothing. He was slowly beginning to realize that this wasn't going to be fixed. He sat his mug down on the coffee table, after a moment, and shifted just slightly to the point where he couldn't see Jack at all.  
There was a nagging sensation in the back of Jack's mind that was telling every part of him to not be like that to Mark, and especially not when it seemed that Mark was trying to hard not to let this all crumble down around them. He hated that he was hurting him, but he knew that if he pretended, even for a moment, that this was going to actually work out, it would only make matters worse when the time came. However, that didn't mean Jack was completely unsympathetic towards Mark.

“Hey, Mark,” Jack smiled a sad smile and placed his hand on Mark's back, rubbing small circles in the fabric of his shirt. “Don't be so down.” Even though the smile was small and not a very convincing one, it was still to be heard in his voice. “I'm sorry.” Before he could think about the repercussions of his actions properly, Jack was pulling Mark over to him and into a loving hug.  
Mark felt himself suddenly relax, because this was exactly how everything was supposed to be. He was supposed to feel happy and he was supposed to feel his heart swell when felt the familiar touch of Jack. He wasn't supposed to go days and weeks without so much as saying “Hi” to Jack, and when they did finally talk it wasn't supposed to be end like this. He was supposed to feel happy around Jack.  
The apology had felt stale and fake on Jack's tongue, as if he wasn't meant to be uttering those words, and maybe that was exactly the case. He was luring Mark into a false sense of security and that had to be fixed before things went too far.

“Mark, we both know that the main reason I came here was to fix this, but -”

“We can!” Mark rushed out, pushing away from Jack just enough to be able to see his face. “We just have to give ourselves a chance to fix it.” He felt his eyes sting, a familiar sensation that he had grown quite used to in certain contexts, but this was not one of those.

“I don't..” Jack paused, glancing down and away form Mark's face. “I don't think we can. Since I've been here, we've barely spoken and it's exasperating. This relationship just isn't enjoyable anymore, we both know it, and we both know it needs to end.”

There was no way this happening. Mark wished it to be a nightmare, no matter how impossible or ridiculous it sounded in his head. Maybe he would wake up in his bed, Jack lying beside him, pressed to his side with his head resting on his chest, but that wouldn't happen. Mark blinked hard, a tear slipping down his cheek.

“Jack, you can't just leave. You promised that you would never leave, no matter how distant we became. You said we would always find a way to fix I. You promised.”

Mark never expected the words that came out of Jack's mouth next, and he never expected them to haunt him for so long, but the fact was that they did.

“Promises are meant to be broken, Mark.”

Jack's gaze lifted up to Mark's face as he stood from the couch, not exactly knowing if his words were the best choice. He was even tearing up, watching Mark beg and plead for him to stay, and it was near unbearable to watch, so he gathered himself and walked into the bedroom. He began to prepare for his departure, the one he failed to inform Mark about. It was still early, and his flight wouldn't be leaving until 7pm, so he had to find something to do in LA to waste time. He dressed himself before retrieving what few things he brought along. Jack gave the room one last once over, making sure he had all his belongings, before making his way back into the small living area.

“Bye, Mark.” Jack stopped just outside the bedroom doorway, calling across the small apartment to the figure still hunched over on the couch.

Mark only stared, with bloodshot eyes as he was now letting tears stream down his face in quick succession. And just like that, Jack left. He walked out the door with no further words or acknowledgments to Mark's state. Mark kept quiet, turning his attention back to the blackness of the TV screen. Jack's words rang through his head, “Promises are meant to be broken, Mark.” The words burned like a wildfire in the back of his mind. Everything that Jack had said knocked the breath out of him. He felt like the essence of his being was being ripped away with every thought about it. And now he sat on the couch, having felt like his very soul had escaped him, knowing that the man he had loved – and the man he continued to love – had just left him. He was broken, and the only thing that could fix him was Jack.

“You..promised.”

Mark said it out loud, to no avail that Jack would hear those words. He fell back onto the couch and began to sob uncontrollably as his world crumbled down around him. Though, surely, Jack would come back. He would come back because he promised he would, and Jack wasn't one to break promises, especially those made to Mark. Yet time ticked by and the empty feeling inside Mark grew tremendously as he waited.  
Soon it became quite evident that Jack wasn't going to return. He had – unbeknownst to Mark – made his way to LAX and would soon board his flight back to Ireland. Mark, eventually, forced himself off the couch and went to retrieve his laptop. He needed to, at least, try to work.


End file.
